


Chronicles of Bloodstone

by Kingshadow486



Category: Steven Universe (Cartoon)
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-10-03
Updated: 2017-10-02
Packaged: 2019-01-08 09:49:45
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 7
Words: 11,053
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12251925
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kingshadow486/pseuds/Kingshadow486
Summary: The tales of a Bloodstone from Homeworld. Yeah I know, male Gems, how horrible. Also Rebecca Sugar ruined Bloodstone for me with that stupid Ronaldo episode, yet I still post this.





	1. An Unlikely Ally

            Bloodstone was on a ship bound for the infamous Earth for training. Now Gems are created with all their knowledge of their job and skills built in, but for the civil war on Earth any new warriors needed special training to better the success rate against all the guerrilla and erratic tactics employed by the rebels. He also wasn’t an ordinary Gem. Bloodstone’s are supposed to be bloodthirsty and ready for the next person to fight, but he was the exact opposite of that. Timid, shy, and quiet made him the runt of the haul. Luckily for him, Bloodstones stick together no matter the faults. He was hassled by the higher-ups but his sisters had his back. He was a male; another fault in his creation somehow.

            “Hey 3FB!” The call startled the gem and made him jump.

            “Y-yeah?” He responded timidly, drawing himself away from the window he was next to.

            “We’re just arriving, come on get ready.” The small Gem nodded and got into his appropriate line, jumping again when the Gem behind him slapped his back with a chuckle.

            “Don’t be so worried, we got you. They probably won’t see you anyway.” She said and gave him a big grin. He couldn’t help but smile back. His sisters were pretty great. Soon the door opened and they all filed out. The camp was large and sprawling, small buildings everywhere with even more Gems about. The mass of Bloodstones was led away, soon splitting into groups of twenty. After being lined up, three green Gems stood in front of them; Emeralds. 3FB was finally able to peak around his sisters and gasped. The main Emerald was a guy too! He wasn’t the only freak? Not to say the Emerald was a freak he was pretty good looking. Not in that way just! The young Gem’s thoughts were quickly interrupted by the mentioned Emerald speaking.

            “Listen up! You’ll be here for the next few months training to better yourselves against the rebels. I know you’re all strong and cunning, but so is the enemy. They will do anything to win, and many of them are extremely deadly.” He looked among them and a small smirk graced his lips.

            “I need two volunteers.” After a moment of silence the largest Bloodstone stepped up, grabbing 3FB by the arm. She smiled as the smaller Gem rubbed his arm meekly.

            “Ah perfect! I want to see how you two fight. First one knocked down loses.” He and the rest of the Gems watching stepped back to give the two room. Quite a few walking by stopped to watch the smaller Gem poof.

            “Sorry Bud, but you’re not about to the end of my winning streak.” With that, she charged at him. He yelped and quickly dodged out of the way, shaking his head a little at the sudden movement. He really isn’t fit for combat. She came at him again while he recovered, going for a sucker punch to his jaw. He ducked just quickly enough for the first to go over his head.

            “Come on 3FB fight back!” One of the other Bloodstones cheered, causing the rest to cheer him on. He let out a small sigh before punching her in the stomach, barely phasing her. She smiled down at him and threw him back. Luckily, he did a backwards roll and ended up on his feet.

            “This might take a while…let’s kick it up a notch.” The leader nodded to his two lackeys, who in turn tossed each fighter a mace. The larger Gem caught it with one hand, while the male fumbled with it in both hands. She waited patiently for him to ready himself, not wanting to actually poof him. He nodded a little at her when he was ready, a blush gracing his cheeks. Once more she charged him, swinging quickly. The ring of metal rang out as mace hit mace. He backed away to smile, only for the mace in his hands to crack to pieces. Chuckles could be heard from around them, even his opponent laughing a little.

            “Sorry bud, but someone has to win.” She said then jumped forward, swinging again. Some viewers braced themselves to watch him poof right away, but instead there was another ring of metal on metal. Soon gasps were heard from all over. In his hands was a red bladed, green hilted rapier. The little gem had summoned his own weapon! He widened his eyes before pushing back, a wave of energy breaking the mace and knocking his opponent to the ground.

            “Well, looks like we have a winner.” The Emerald said with a smirk.

            “It’s things like this that the enemy can pull off, especially in desperate times. But as you can see here, we can too. Never be predictable, all right? You all can rest for the next day. As for you, 3FB was it? Good job, that sword of yours will be very good to have.” The officer gave the smaller male the kind of smile that can give anyone butterflies, and it sure did for him. Another blush crept across his cheeks as he nodded a bit, before being picked up by his sisters.

            “That was amazing lil’ fella! We knew you had it in you!” That day they celebrated his strength, making sure almost all of his self-doubt was gone. Not being the only male helped a lot, too. Unbeknownst to him, the Emerald officer was keeping detailed notes on the experience, but it was for his eyes only.

            “Hmm…what an interesting day. Another misfit who apparently can summon a weapon a few days after coming out of the ground. He may be the size of a Pearl, but that doesn’t mean anything if he can summon a weapon now. If anything, that makes him that much deadlier, being a Bloodstone. I think this is going to be a very exciting few months around here.” Of course this was all said to himself, but nevertheless the information held true.


	2. Training

            The day after their arrival, the Bloodstones were put to work. The fighting aspect of it wasn’t the hard part; it was the tactics and strategies that got to them. They were made to fight and fight only, not learn advanced combat plans. Their Emerald leader, however saw fit to train them all in it. In his words, it made much better soldiers out of them all. It did. The first day after hours of sparring, the whole batch of 500 Bloodstones watched as a massive hologram appeared in front of them. 3FB was near the front because of his unit as well as his height, or lack of.

            “Listen up! I know a lot of you are wondering why I’m putting you through this, or even thinking that it’s stupid. I would disagree, as the skills I’m going to teach you are very important. Yes, these sorts of things are left to Emeralds and ‘more important Gems’ normally.” He used the air quotes very heavily.

            “But you won’t be up against this Planet’s species. We’re fighting other Gems, our own kind. Many of who are just as talented or even more so than us. Look at it this way; if your squad leader or even commanding officer is taken out, how useful would it be if every single soldier fighting knew the plan and could take charge right away in their place? There would be no disorganisation, no morale loss. I am not the Diamonds, nor am I one of their top leaders. I am here to reduce casualties as much as I can, but I also want to do the same for the enemy. They’re our own kind after all, and no matter our differences we should strive to save them; to be better.” When he finished, he was surprised to hear cheering from the Bloodstones, which made him smile.

            After a few hours of explaining simple and more complicated tactics, he used the hologram to create a representation of a battle field. On one side in a sort of hilly area there was a large green shaded portion to represent the Homeworld forces, while the Mountains were shaded pink to represent the Rebels.

            “I’m going to go through a previous battle here on Earth that we lost, and I want you to tell me how it could have gone differently in _our_ favor.” With that the masses of color moved, most of the green going for the pink. The pink stayed relatively close to mountains, the green clashing against it but soon fading away. Then the pink began to move into the hills, overwhelming the green as it slowly faded away. He played it again but closer, showing the different types of Gems fighting in each area. The Rebels had advanced Artillery in the mountains, shelling any skirmishes in range that were dominate by the Homeworld Gems. The only small breakthrough that lasted more than a few minutes was that of a few Amethysts lead by a Holly.

            “So tell me, what could have been done differently?” There was a moment of silence before a hand went up.

            “They could have scouted and not thrown bodies against a wall.” One said from near the back.

            “Good. Never treat your fellow soldiers as numbers. I’m sure none of you want to die, so why force it upon your sisters? What else?” The Emerald said and reset the screen.

            “If they tested the waters they would have sent a few squads in to assess the situation, but then they would have been shelled…so a scout party?” Another said from the other side of the group.

            “No, an infiltration team to scout then when they spot the artillery, take it out!” Yet another said excitedly.

            “They could just take out the Rose…” 3FB mumbled, but in the pause of silence almost everyone could hear it.

            “Rose? There are quite a few Rose Quartz’s fighting here. Which do you mean.” Emerald said and looked over the hologram.

            “Oh please, you know which one I mean.” 3FB stood and pointed, the hologram zooming in on _the one_. A certain Rose Quartz with a battle-ready Pearl right next to her.

            “We all know it’s _her_. If the right sized team could sneak past their lines and force her away, the rest would cripple without her leadership. Though…it would mean that team wouldn’t be coming back…” He sighed.

            “I see what you mean. It would be good and minimize casualties, but that team would be sacrificing themselves. Does everyone agree that’s the best strategy to win and reduce losses?” He asked and looked around, the rest of the Bloodstones nodding.

            “This is an important lesson. You cannot save _everyone_. Do your best to, but some sacrifices must be made. That’s the cost of war. I think it’s time for some more sparring, all right?” He stepped back as the hologram shut down. The group stood up and made their way to the sparring area.

            “Good job today, you have a good eye for this kind of stuff.” Emerald said as he pat 3FB on the back before walking away. He was soon slapped on the back by another Bloodstone who was grinning. The small male was blushing furiously and she could see, but how could that officer not?

            “Man we knew you were crushing but not that bad.”

            “N-no I’m not, shut up big sis!” He yelled and tried to hit her, causing her to laugh and pick him up. She carried him to the others with a grin on her face as he flailed desperately to escape.


	3. Learning

            After a few months of training, the Bloodstones were getting worn out somehow. Even with all their strength, new battle knowledge, and legendary stamina, their Emerald officer was working them harder than a Bismuth during an earthquake. Luckily for them they gained a short day’s rest. Every few hours, though, he would call one of them to the training area. It wasn’t all of them as he didn’t go in order, and there seemed to be no clear pattern on who he chose. He did end up calling on 3FB at sunset, however. The smaller male complied and followed the officer to the training area not knowing what was going to happen.

            “Sir, i-if I may ask, what is this about?” The Bloodstone asked softly and looked at the Emerald. The officer was much taller, more defined, and even much more refined looking. It made the Bloodstone blush a bit but he kept his composure.

            “I’ve been evaluating a few of your sisters and now it’s your turn. It varied a bit but for you I want to see how you do in combat. I know you’ve been improving but I want to see for myself.” He turned to face him after he spoke. He reached down and formed a battle-axe from his gem, located on his left hip. He spun it a few times with a smirk and looked at him.

            Bloodstone widened his eyes before pulling his sword from his gem, readying himself.

            “Sir I-I don’t know if this is a good idea, you’re a lot stronger than me and I-I really don’t feel like poofing sounds good.” He sighed when the other male laughed. Not a good sign in his book, really. That didn’t stop the Emerald from lunging at him, forcing him to duck.

            “Don’t worry I’m not trying that hard, I just want to see where you’re at!” He swung again forcing Bloodstone to roll to the side. He swiped at his legs but it pinged off the axe in a heartbeat. The smaller male stood up quickly to block the axe which was almost touching his nose. He yelped at the close call and reflexively kicked Emerald in the stomach, sending him back a few steps.

            “That was good. Reaction or planned?” He asked and smiled. Bloodstone was still in shock from almost getting cut in half. “R-reaction. Are you sure you’re not trying to kill me? Because it feels like you’re trying to kill me.” He looked at the officer and froze for a moment. He was laughing at his comment but the genuine smile and overall expression made the Bloodstone melt. He began to blush again, the colors on his cheeks inverting. He heard faint talking and when he realized it was Emerald, he shook his head to clear it of the distracting thoughts.

            “I’m not trying to kill you, I know you could have blocked it. I’m pretty sure at least…anyway I want to see if you can do more than just swipe with that blade of yours.” Bloodstone tilted his head in confusion, making Emerald chuckle again.

            “Not everyone can summon a weapon. Some Gems have certain powers, some create weapons, some create defensive or utility tools, and some can’t really do anything. You can create a weapon and with what I’ve seen you can probably do more with it. Gems who can create weapons can sometimes do a little extra with them. I’ll show you my extra ability.” Emerald took a step back and threw his axe forward. It stopped in mid-air right in front of Bloodstone who winced in anticipation of being hit. The weapon moved back and began to spin in place, glowing slightly as well.

            “I can control my weapon beyond my reach for pretty far, and if I concentrate enough I can summon another one and control that. It’s not necessarily the most useful ability but it works. I want you to focus as much as you can and see what happens.” With that the axe returned to him and disappeared.

            “All right but don’t expect much. Especially when neither of us know what’s going to happen…” Bloodstone held his sword close, hilt at his chest with the blade pointing down. He took a few deep breaths and after a moment the sword began to glow. Emerald remained silent but was grinning like a dork, almost overflowing with excitement. The sword glowed brighter and brighter for another moment until he acted.

            He opened his eyes and swung with the sword elegantly as if he had been using it for hundreds of years. A wave of pure red energy came from the blade in the arc of his swipe, cutting into the ground for a good few feet. He continued to swipe and dance across the field, some strikes light and smooth while others were heavy and strong. He stopped back in place where he started, his sword disappearing. The slashes into the ground created a rough circle around the pair, almost exactly replicating the design of his own gem.

            “Amazing! I think you got the hang of it, don’t you?” The Emerald asked with a wide grin. Bloodstone smiled at him before collapsing onto the ground. Before he hit the ground, however, Emerald caught him and chuckled.

            “I thought it would take a lot out of you. Don’t worry, I got you. How about you be my personal guard?” He asked out of the blue making the dazed Gem look up at him in shock.

            “M-me? N-no I’m only a Bloodstone and a d-defect at that! I-I can’t even use my powers without passing out and t-the other higher ups will mock you because of me and-“

            “Bloodstone.” Emerald interrupted him before he could ramble further. He looked down at the Gem in his arms and chuckled a little.

            “I don’t care. I think you’re more than capable so that’s why I’m asking. Do you want to be my personal guard?” Bloodstone was still shocked, but the way Emerald smiled at him was getting to him again.

            “Y-yes sir. I-I’ll do my best!” He replied with a small smile of his own. Emerald helped him stand up and nodded once.

            “Good! You probably won’t see your sisters as often so I’ll let you go tell them, but I think you’ll do great. When you’re ready come find me at my quarters, Bloodred.” He flashed him one last smile before walking off. Bloodstone began to walk back to the others and only paused after a minute.

            “Wait, Bloodred? What does that mean?” He turned and asked but he Emerald was gone. He sighed and walked back to is sisters.

            “How’d it go?” The first one to see him asked while the others in his squad looked at him.

            “It was…weird. We sparred a little then he had me use a special power or something? And well…he wants me to be his personal guard. Like all the time and right before he walked away, he called me Bloodred.” At this the other Bloodstones around him cheered.

            “Someone has a boyfriend~” One teased making him blush furiously and the others laugh.

            “He’s not my boyfriend! H-he just…thinks highly of me for some reason. I still kind of think it’s a prank you’ve set up…”

            “Trust me lil’ bro, we’re not that cruel. No go meet your date!”

            “Yeah go get him! Don’t worry about us, all right? We’ll be fine.” Another said. All the Gems around him began to cheer him on and soon all 499 other Bloodstones were cheering his new nickname. He left quickly out of embarrassment, but did so with a smile plastered onto his face.

            “Bloodred…I like it actually.” He muttered to himself as he entered the Emerald building.


	4. Family

            _What am I doing here? Sure being here with Emerald is amazing but I kind of miss my sisters. I don’t get as much as support without them but I can tell Emerald tried really hard to compete. It’s really sweet, actually. He pushes me hard but at the slightest notice of fatigue or pain and he stops everything. He even defends me from the other higher ups…I don’t know what I did to deserve this but I’ll do everything to earn it. Maybe even get him to notice me in another way…no what am I thinking, there’s no way he sees me like that! Maybe?_

            ‘Bloodred.” Emerald said, snapping the other Gem back to reality. He was in a war room with Emerald and a few other Gems. They were reviewing intel gathered on a rebel position not too far away from the camp. Bloodstone thought he wouldn’t be needed, at least with the other high ranking Gems in the room.

            “Y-yes sir! What do you need?” He asked shyly, trying not to blush. The other Gems scoffed, probably thinking about how stupid he looked. Emerald paid it no mind.

            “Can you take a look at this? I want your opinion on the matter.” At this the other Gems looked shocked. How could an Emerald want the advice on battle tactics from a mere Bloodstone?

            “Oh, well…” He stepped forward and analysed the hologram for some time. A small force was about a click away from their camp. As large as it may be, many of the Gems here aren’t trained. In fact, the majority of the camp was dedicated to supplies and munitions stocking. The number of rebels alone wouldn’t be enough to take the camp, unless they were highly trained. Why are they here though? They should have weapons by now, it’s not like they couldn’t have convinced a few Bismuth by now.

            “It would seem it’s too complicated for him.” The Holly said with a smirk on her face.

            “You need a Pearl; a Gem that knows her place.” At this Bloodstone furrowed his brow. He looked at Emerald who smiled softly at him in return.

            “Go ahead.” Was all he said, ignoring the now annoyed Holly.

            “Well sir, it doesn’t really make sense why they’re here. They have weapons and numbers, so this camp is a pointless target. Unless…” He paused for a moment before his eyes widened.

            “What is it? Eureka moment?” Emerald asked, his smile turning into a smirk.

            “They worked very hard to find this place and then get here; we’re far away from the front lines. But if they’re here for something other than supplies, they’re after the only other thing here; us.” At the end of his statement, an explosion went off in the distance followed soon after by more.

            “Us?? Why do they want us?” The Holly exclaimed as the Gems frantically tried to organise themselves.

            “They want to cut off the supply of troops from Homeworld!” Bloodstone shouted over another explosion, this one closer than the others. He froze, a thought crossing his mind. His sisters were in danger. He looked to Emerald quickly who gave him a single nod in return.

            “Go. I’ll follow.”

            The camp was chaos. Rebels had snuck past the perimeter and began destroying buildings. There was fighting everywhere, but most of the Gems stationed here weren’t fighters. Only the Bloodstones were the actual warriors. Bloodred ran as fast as he could to their quarters, Emerald close on his heels.

            The building they used as housing was crumbled and smouldering. The field around the rubble was surrounded by fighting. The Bloodstones were using the destroyed building as a fall-back position but the Rebel Gems were still pushing forward. It seemed as if for every one Rebel that poofed, two Bloodstones went down with them. This proved Bloodred to be correct that their attackers were an elite unit.

            Bloodred began running towards the center after a moment but was stopped by a sword swiping from the left. In an instant, he summoned his sword, clashing with an Amethyst blocking him. When she swiped left he parried the attack and swiped, poofing her in one hit. Before the gemstone could hit the ground, he reached down and bubbled it, moving on with Emerald.

            Gem after Gem fell to the pair, cutting a line straight through to the group of Bloodstones. Their advance allowed them to regroup and push back the Rebels for a moment. Along the entire area there were Gems floating in green or multi-colored bubbles. There was a difference them and the Rebels. They didn’t shatter Gems, they didn’t even let them hit the ground. They weren’t murderers.

            “What happened how many are hurt?” Bloodred asked the first Bloodstone he saw not fighting. Against the rubble there were injured Gems. Mostly bloodstones but a few workers as well. Some had their forms damaged, some cracked, and some moments away from shattering. Bloodred felt sick. His family was being hurt, killed! And these other innocent workers didn’t deserve this either. They didn’t even lift a finger against the Rebels, not once. None of them deserved this.

            “They hit the supports. We lost at least 50 in just the collapse, more when they ambushed the ones trying to escape…shattered. At this rate, we’ve already lost near to 200…” She said grimly, her expression sad and angry. 200? How could they have already lost two fifths of their sisters? They had trained so hard to protect Homeworld’s beliefs, to not kill other Gems, only to be shattered themselves. Were they not good people? When he felt Emerald’s hand on his shoulder he knew. They were good people, but the Crystal Gems weren’t. What kind of good person kills their own kind to further their own cause?

            “Bloodred!” Once again Emerald snapped the Bloodstone out of his thoughts, but he still wasn’t focusing. His whole world was breaking before his eyes. His family being shattered over and over, into smaller pieces. Now there was some ship in the sky. All the Gems were running. Wait, why were the Homeworld Gems running too, aren’t the ships on Homeworld’s? What about the wounded, who would help them? He looked up to Emerald, who seemed far away. The officer grabbed him by the arm, pulling him into a nearby broken building. Somewhere, deep in his mind, Bloodstone knew what was happening. Right now, he couldn’t tell you his name. He hugged Emerald tightly as the light became blinding, hearing a small and soft-spoken phrase before it happened.

            “I’ll always be with you.”

            When Bloodstone woke up, he couldn’t tell what he was looking at. It was dark and moving a little bit. He pulled back and it quickly dawned on him it was Emerald’s chest. With a gasp, he pulled away and shook his head. Why was he so close to Emerald? Wait, what happened? He stood and thought, the memories coming back slowly. Emerald was still asleep, so he decided to leave him. He walked outside slowly and froze at the sight. The field with all the fighting, the buildings ruined and still intact, the entire camp was empty. The ship was gone and what happened began to dawn on Bloodstone.

            A purge. Elsewhere on Earth some other Homeworld base had caught wind of the attack, probably through a distress signal, and ordered a purge of the camp. No Gem could survive a purging, unless something concealed them that was incredibly durable. Emerald must have brought him into the explosives stockpile which was somehow untouched by the Rebels. The rest of the buildings weren’t thick enough to save anyone else. They were all dead. Shattered to dust and thrown into the wind. That means the Rebels, he officers, the workers, and his family. Tears began to well up in his eyes, realisation hitting him like a truck.

            “Bloodstone…” Emerald said from behind him, having woken up as well. Bloodstone turned to him, tears already streaming down his cheeks. The taller male hugged him tightly, letting him sob against him. They both knew that now they only had each other. Homeworld forces wouldn’t expect survivors but if they did go back they’d be separated as they’re not the same.

            “Emerald…I know you’ll probably hate me but I can’t keep going. I can’t keep fighting, n-not for them. Not for the people who killed my entire family. And not for the Rebels, either. They’re all murderers…they all kill for their goals.” He said having calmed down a little. Emerald smiled sadly down at him.

            “I know, Bloodred. I know you can’t go back or join the other side, I can’t either. But trust me, I don’t think I could hate you if it would save my life. I’ll stick with you no matter what, all right?” Bloodstone was able to return the grim smile as he wiped his eyes, standing up straight. They began to leave the wreckage of a camp, never to return to the now haunted place. Neither side was safe from them, now. Both sides, all murderers, would be fighting the Bloodstone and Emerald and would regret it.


	5. Sanctuary

            “I think this will do.” Emerald said, staring into the cave. Bloodstone popped his head up from over his shoulder. The cave ran deep into the mountain and after a bit of exploring Emerald found a good-sized cavern in the center; perfect for them to set up a base. Bloodstone smiled and nodded in response.

            They travelled down into the cavern, their stolen goods in tow. They had to make it look homely somehow and what better way to get stuff than, borrow, it from the Rebels and Homeworld? They wouldn’t miss it. Things extra weapons and building materials, to things they thought looked nice. Emerald had taken a banner from both sides and stitched them together, the two of them using it to mock them. Bloodstone had taken the engine from a small hovercraft just to screw over a single Homeworld officer. The pair seemed to be doing petty thievery for their own amusement, but that was nothing compared to the actual operations they ran. They weren’t stupid.

            The first mission they ran was against a Rebel base near the front lines. They snuck in, took out the officers quickly, then proceeded to trap the Rebels in the buildings for hours. The Rebel supply lines went unguarded for so long Homeworld actually acted and raided the route a few times before they could regroup. The very next day they destroyed the warp pads in the nearby Homeworld base and the materials to fix them, making their resupply take days instead of hours. Back and forth they went, ruining both sides from commanders to supplies. Nothing went untouched from the pair. They wanted to make their little war as difficult as possible.

            “Beds?” Bloodstone asked Emerald after mostly everything was set up.

            “Beds? You mean bed.” He said and started working on said furniture. Bloodstone could feel a blush rising to his cheeks. Share a bed? I mean sure he liked Emerald like that but there’s no way he feels the same way. Even after the months they’d been working together he hadn’t said anything or even hinted at the possibility. Maybe it was to save room, yeah that’s it! But then for what? They had already set everything up. Oh god what did it mean??

            “Hey, it’s ready. Wanna test it?” Bloodstone looked up and his blush intensified tenfold. Emerald was laying on the queen-sized bed in the “Paint me like one of your French girls” pose with a smirk on his face. Bloodstone shook his head quickly and covered his face, making Emerald laugh aloud.

            “Man you turned so green!” He exclaimed, referring to the Gem's inverted blush. Bloodstone glared at him, though his blush didn’t fade.

            “S-shut up, you’re the greeny! A-at I change color when I blush!” He retorted, smirking a bit when Emerald’s cheeks turned a slightly darker shade of green. That one got him. Normally Emerald would easily beat Bloodstone with any teasing, but over time he was learning all the tricks up his non-existent sleeves. Luckily Emerald couldn’t read Bloodstones thoughts.

            “W-well, it helps me hide my emotions better unlike someone. At the slightest sign of embarrassment, you turn green.” It was true as Bloodstone was primarily red; that’s what made Bloodstones extra unique. Emerald called him Bloodred because of how red he was, as well as the shade of red. Despite this, Bloodstone knew he had a one-up on Emerald. Oh this was going to be a good argument for once.

            “Hide your emotions, huh? Oh yeah I’m sure that comes in handy when you’re practically fawning over my progress!” Bloodstone smirked as he watched Emerald’s blush deepen. Bloodstone was too caught up in his gloating to realise exactly what he said. Had someone mentioned that fact to him, he would have denied it in embarrassment. But for now, Emerald’s embarrassment was all he was focused on, so not too far from what he normally did.

            Emerald got up, his eyebrows down. Bloodstone was still smirking, not intimidated by the other Gem any longer. They’d been on their own for far too long for that. The silence hung around them like thick fog, both thinking. Emerald was going to make a move, but now Bloodstone couldn’t tell what. It was like he was out of ideas, but that never happens. Bloodstone’s smirk faded a little, the awkwardness weighing him down.

            “E-emerald? You’re acting really strange all of a sudden. I know I beat you in an argument for once but come on, it wasn’t that bad. It was just about your cute blush.” This snapped Emerald out of his thoughts, his turn to begin smirking. Bloodstone tilted his head at him for a moment.

            “Why are you smirking? I swear if you sucker punch me out of no-where…” He began, taking a step back as a precaution.

            “You think I’m cute huh?” Emerald asked, stepping closer. As soon as he said it Bloodstone realised the error of his ways and began to blush. Busted.

            “N-No! I-I didn’t say that!” He retorted quickly, shaking his head, and moving back farther. Emerald slowly followed him, chuckling a little.

            “S-so you think I’m ugly than? I’m hurt Bloodred, I thought we were the best team ever.”

            “No I didn’t say that either! Y-you’re definitely not ugly! I-I swear on my Gem!” Bloodstone gasped as he fell back onto the bed, his blush deepening more so than either had seen when Emerald got over him.

            “Than which is it? Am I cute or ugly?” He asked with a chuckle.

            “I-I think you’re really handsome!” Bloodstone exclaimed, Emerald sighing in triumph. But right before he could get up, Bloodstone continued.

            “I-I like you a lot, ok?! I-I can’t help that you’re really good looking and smart and funny and talented and I don’t know why you ever _considered_ talking to me let alone personally training me but I l-love every minute of it! I can’t help I love you…” At the end of his little speech his voice had died down to barely more than a whisper, his head turned away. Emerald was taken aback by what he’d said. He really felt that way? He knew Bloodstone liked him but not nearly that much.

            “I’m sorry…I-I need some air…” Bloodstone mumbled and started to push Emerald away, hoping the tension would negate the fact his statement made no literal sense. Emerald stopped him, however, looking him dead in the eyes. Bloodstone was a little worried now and struggled a little but Emerald was much stronger.

            “E-Emerald I’m serious y-you-“ He was interrupted by Emerald’s lips on his own. He gasped in surprise but after a moment he returned the kiss. When Emerald pulled away slowly he just gave him that old, warm smile.

            “I’m glad you feel the same way.” He said simply, getting up. Bloodstone was still blushing like mad, now trying to process exactly what just happened. Emerald moved to move the last few things into place, letting Bloodstone think.

            “What, you act so surprised I feel the same way. You think all that praise was baseless? N-not to say it was just based on my attraction! Y-you really have improved a lot!” A light blush came back to Emerald’s cheeks and Bloodstone smiled a bit.

            “You’ll never change, will you? Thank you, Emerald, you kind of saved me a lot of thinking and courage. Wanna go steal something from the nearby camp to always remember this screw up of a confession?” Emerald chuckled and followed him out of their new home. The two set down the mountain for the Homeworld camp north of their home. It was temporary, no permeant buildings up. It seemed they were just resting for a while before moving on to their actual destination. When they got close enough, they saw that the small convoy was carrying “recaptured” supplies from the Rebels.

            “Nothing looks good…” Bloodstone muttered while they scanned.

            “That does.” Emerald pointed to a worn and scarred shield just outside one of the tents. An Amethyst walked out of the tent, sighing before moving on. Emerald smiled at Bloodstone before the pair made their way down into the camp.

            The convoy looked like they needed a rest, as most all the Gems were sitting down exhausted. This made their sneaking through relatively easy. Bloodstone seized the shield but quickly ducked into the tent as the Amethyst was coming back. Emerald was waiting back just in case something happened, like now. The Amethyst entered the tent and walked over to a small table, looking at a hologram of reports. Bloodstone stayed still, under the table, hoping Emerald would do something. Suddenly there was a clang from outside the tent and the Amethyst sighed. As soon as she was out of the tent Bloodstone bolted, soon joining Emerald. As they left the camp with the old shield, they could hear the Amethyst in charge scolding the other Gems for fooling around.

            “Thanks for the save.” Bloodstone said and smiled at Emerald. The taller male smiled a little nervously at the comment.

            “That…wasn’t actually me. I think something fell on accident. I-I was going to do something, I swear.” Bloodstone stared at him with a deadpan look, obviously not amused.

            “Gee thanks. I confess my love to you and then you plan to leave me stuck in an enemy camp.”

            “N-no it wasn’t like that! Oh, come on Bloodred you know I wouldn’t leave you behind!” Emerald almost whined as Bloodstone hung the shield on the wall. Before he could whine more Bloodstone kissed him on the cheek.

            “Next time, act a little faster, yeah?” He asked, Emerald nodding in response. Bloodstone chuckled a little and laid on the bed, soon joined by Emerald.

            “I think that’s enough stress for today. At least for me, you didn’t do much at all!” Emerald scoffed a bit and turned his head to face him.

            “Didn’t do much? I carried almost all our stuff up here! You even had me carry you at one point!” Bloodstone blushed lightly and glared at him a bit.

            “Y-you’re not the one that confessed their crush, or were the one stuck under a table trying to steal a shield!” He retorted, their argument lasting through the night.


	6. Loss

            “What are we after again?” Bloodstone mumbled to Emerald. The pair was hiding behind a few crates, almost in the exact center of a Homeworld base. Emerald chuckled softly and looked at his counterpart.

            “We’re here to disrupt the base. A lot of troops and supplies have been moving through here. I think they’re making a second kindergarten nearby. If we can stop that from happening it’ll really screw up their war effort. Let’s just hope we can actually pull it off.” Bloodstone rolled his eyes at him. Emerald always said things like that, even though every single time the succeeded without a hitch. Ok, maybe there were a few close calls but they were never caught or stopped. As far as either side knew, they were as good as dead.

            Emerald began moving from hiding spot to hiding spot, closely followed by Bloodstone. Gems were moving about but weren’t paying much mind to their surroundings. It was early dusk so they wouldn’t have to be on alert for another hour or so. This was the perfect time for the pair to sneak in and make their attack. Even if the whole outpost was on alert, they wouldn’t be on alert from something on the inside. Soon they were next to where the main cargo was being held. They snuck into the building and Emerald grimaced at the sight. Injectors ready for transport. Bloodstone poked his head over Emerald’s shoulder and sighed.

            “Guess you were right. Are we going to destroy them or what? I think that’d make a lot more noise than what we’re used to.” Emerald smiled and walked closer.

            “I think we might be able to sabotage them. It’ll be quiet and still practically destroy their Gem production. I’ll get to work, just watch the door.” Bloodstone looked taken aback.

            “You mean I don’t get to help? It’ll go so much faster! Besides, I wanna go home and cuddle…” He mumbled and crossed his arms. Emerald chuckled and continued to work on the first Injector.

            “As much as I would love to, I want to make sure our backs are covered. I won’t be longer than an hour.” Bloodstone sighed and agreed reluctantly, sitting near the personnel door that lead inside. After about half an hour Bloodstone jumped at the sound of the door opening. A Perridot was standing in the doorway, shocked at the sight. Before she could move, however, Bloodstone hand hilted his sword in her chest. “Sorry, I promise you’ll be safe in a bubble.” He said right before she poofed. As promised he bubbled the gemstone and let it float next to him.

            “All clear, but you might want to hurry.” He said and leaned back. Emerald did his best to work faster at the warning, nearly done on the second to last Injector. Right as he started on the last one, there was an explosion then shouting. This made Bloodstone jump while Emerald hit his head on the machine. Bloodstone peaked out the door to see Rebels attacking the base. He slowly retracted his head back into the building and looked at Emerald.

            “Umm…we might have an issue arising outside.” At the end of his sentence there was another explosion. Emerald sighed and walked over to him. He looked outside and quickly ducked back in to avoided getting hit by a large piece of rubble.

            “It looks like you’re right. I think we might have to fight our way out of here. Let’s make our way for the west wall, were we came in.” Bloodstone nodded in response and followed him out of the building. They were able to sneak past all the fighting near the main gates, but soon they ran into another area of skirmishes. The main building was surrounded by fighting, the Homeworld Gems trying to defend it while the Rebels desperately tried to get to it. Bloodstone looked at Emerald and smiled a bit before pulling out his rapier. Emerald smiled in return and summoned his battle axe. They then charged at the fighters, beginning the long haul to clearing an escape route.

            Warrior after warrior fell before the pair, each getting bubbled before they would move on. Some of the Gems would wait out of respect as their fallen comrades were bubbled, while others would take the chance to get a one up on the mysterious duo. Neither made a difference, they all fell before their blades. As they neared the walls that would ensure their escape, a big, burly Holly Blue stopped Emerald. Bloodstone was still preoccupied with Gems following them. Emerald could tell she was strong, but with enough effort he could take her down. He wasn’t an Emerald for nothing. He began to attack, the Holly dodging and hitting back. Both landed hits on their opponent, but with their determination it slowed neither of them down. Bloodstone desperately tried to help Emerald but Gem after Gem kept getting in his way.

            After a few minutes of fighting, the Holly and Emerald backed off each other for a moment. They were panting hard, their fight beginning to take its toll on them. Just as Emerald raised his axe again, he cried out in pain when he was struck from behind. He quickly turned to see a worn-out Rose Quartz standing there. It wasn’t _her_ , but it was a Rose nonetheless. No wonder Bloodstone couldn’t get to him, he was fighting the leader of the camp and the Rebel leader. Now the three began to fight, the leaders not caring to realize they were fighting the same Gem. They didn’t recognize Emerald, and that meant he was on the other side. Move after move, attack after attack, Emerald was being worn down. The wave of Gems to stop Bloodstone’s advance was endless. Then, it happened.

            The unmistakeable crack of a Gem, a cry of pain, and a thud. Bloodstone looked over and froze. Emerald was on the ground. Everyone around them had stopped at the noise. No one recognized the voice, and so far, no one had been shattered. There were a few partially cracked Gems but nothing that couldn’t be fixed. No, this was no small crack. They all knew that sound, even if they hadn’t heard it before. That Gem was going to shatter. Bloodstone’s only family was about to leave him.

            “No!!” Bloodstone dropped his sword and ran over to Emerald, sliding onto his knees, and picking him up. He glanced down at the Gemstone on his hip and the cracks were spreading fast. The camp was dead silent, save for Bloodstone’s growing sobs. Emerald looked up at the other Gem, the love of his life. He gave him a small, sad smile and held onto his arm.

            “No please, please I can’t lose you. Not you too you’re all that I have left, p-please Emerald you have to stay with me…” Bloodstone pleaded quietly, tears falling down onto Emerald’s arm. He could feel the world falling around him, his world was shattering. His one and only was shattering. Emerald managed to speak softly, feeling the cracks run deeper.

            “You…have to stay strong, Bloodstone…you know I love you…” They had never really said it to each other much, it was always known between them. Whenever they did say it aloud, it was when they were being extra sweet, or times were tough. Bloodstone shook his head a bit, his tears falling faster.

            “N-no Emerald I can’t live without you. I need you, I-I can’t lose more family, not you.” Emerald looked down. Bloodstone’s Gemstone was beginning to crack. His heart was breaking, he didn’t want to live without Emerald. He couldn’t.

            “You have to, Bloodred. You can’t die. I…I love you so much, my little Gem.” Emerald said and put a hand on Bloodstone’s cracking gem, felling the cracks stop. He laughed a little before the final crack shook his form. In an instant, he poofed, the shattered remains of his Gem laying on the ground. Bloodstone cried harder, all the Gems around him watching in a mix of horror and sadness. After a minute, he slowly stopped crying. A shaky hand reached out and bubbled the pieces left of Emerald. He stood slowly, the other Gems watching him closely.

            “You…all of you are murderers. This wouldn’t have happened if it wasn’t for you. My sisters wouldn’t have been purged if it wasn’t for your _fucking_ war. Because you don’t know how to work things out, because all you know how to do is kill. He wouldn’t be dead if it wasn’t for _you_.” The Gems began to back up a little. The truth in his words cut deep, but he was also looking quite ominous. Someone who has nothing left to lose isn’t someone you want to be close to.

            “He wanted to save as many Gems as he could. He didn’t want anyone to die. He wanted for everyone to be happy and to move on from this stupid war.” Bloodstone took a step forward, looking down at a random bubbled Gem. Emerald had bubbled it.

            “But now that he’s gone, it doesn’t matter. It doesn’t matter that you’re all terrible people. But it also doesn’t matter, that I’m not a good person. Good people don’t kill.” As he finished he stepped on the Gem, crushing it under is boot. Gems around him gasped in shock and fear. Bloodstone moved his foot and looked down at the now shattered Gem, the pieces spread apart. He looked up, his cheeks stained with tears.

            “There’s a reason you Rebels attacked Bloodstones before they were trained. There’s a reason Homeworld almost never makes them. It’s because we don’t stop killing. Especially when you hurt our family.” His blade materialized in his hand. His color was fading. The red and green from his body, sword, and Gem were fading. They turned grey, his Gem still cracked. The Gems around him were feeling a mix of emotions. Some were terrified, while others were ready to stand up to him. It didn’t matter what they thought or did. He cut them all down. One by one Bloodstone killed them all. Shattering each Gem with his sword or under his boots. When the sun rose over the horizon he walked out of the front of the camp. He was the only one that was alive after that. He kept Emerald’s remains with him on his journey home, though.

            After leaving his bubble right over their bed, he set out again. He had some people to talk to about this. Over the next month, he travelled to his destination. Any outposts or camps he encountered he walked through the front door. The moment anyone tried to stop him, he shattered them just like the rest. They didn’t deserve to live. Neither did he, but he made sure to take down as many as he could before he joined Emerald too. His compassion was long gone.

            Inside the temple, Rose was speaking to Pearl and a few other Gems. When they heard a commotion outside and then shattering, they ran out. A horrific sight greeted them. A grey, cracked Bloodstone standing over pieces of shattered Gems. They quickly drew their weapons, Garnet and Amethyst soon joining them.

            “What is the meaning of this, who are you??” Pearl shouted in anger, though her fear was apparent. They all were scared. How did he find them? How did he shatter the guards so easily? How was he not shattered himself with the size of those cracks?

            “The famous Rose Quartz, starter of this _fucking awful war_.” He began, his face still full of hate and anger.

            “I just wanted to let you know how much of an awful person you are. How you and Homeworld are nothing more than murderers with nothing better to do.”

            “That’s enough you-“

            “Shut up!” Bloodstone shouted at Pearl, interrupting her. She flinched at the sudden yell, the amount of anger new to them all except for Rose.

            “You know the orders you give. You remember the camp that was purged.” At this Rose widened her eyes.

            “If you hadn’t attacked that camp, it wouldn’t have been purged. My sisters would be alive! That raid a month ago, that was never heard from again, that was me. If it wasn’t for _your war_ the love of my life wouldn’t be shattered. You may say you don’t kill anyone, but if you hadn’t started this whole thing many more Gems would be alive. I thought you should at least know the kind of shit you’ve started. So, let me tell you this once. Get in my way, and I will grind the pieces of your Gem into dust.” With that, Bloodstone left the camp. He didn’t want to hear what they had to say, even if they could think of something to respond to that right away.

            Bloodstone set out again, this time heading to the main Homeworld base on Earth. None of the guards or warriors could stop him as strolled through to the center. When he was at the war room he activated the Diamond communication relay.

            “The Diamonds are in an important meeting, what is the meaning of this?” A yellow Pearl said from the other end, annoyed. As she began to speak, the sound of a Gem shattering made her freeze.

            “I want to speak to the Diamonds. Can you do that for me, or are you completely useless?” He said, dropping the pieces of the Gem from his hand. She turned away and spoke to Yellow Diamond who scolded her. The monitor had floated closer to the Diamonds, and Bloodstone took the opportunity to shatter another Gem. Yellow Diamond stopped speaking and soon enough the screen widened to show Pink, Blue, and Yellow Diamond.

            “What is this?” Yellow Diamond asked in anger. Pink and Blue were in shock from him casually shattering a Gem just to get their attention. He knew deep down they didn’t care they just didn’t want to see it.

            “I’m here to give you a message. Because of your stupid war with the Crystal Gems,” He practically spat the name, “My family and the love of my life is dead. I know you don’t care since lesser Gems are just numbers to you, but I’ll tell you this. Get in my way again, and nothing will stop me from going back to that forsaken planet to shatter your precious Gems. Maybe I’d poof you just to give you a taste of the feeling before you become dust.” Yellow scoffed and looked at him.

            “What makes you think you could even get here, or win?”

            “Isn’t this the heart of your main base here on Earth, where your best warriors are? Just keep that in mind the next time you think about me.” He left the console on as he walked out, stepping on a few cracked Gems to shatter them completely on his way out. He didn’t want anything to do with either side, like in the beginning. He didn’t really know what he was going to do now, without Emerald, but it would be far away from their forsaken war.


	7. Meeting

            It was about midday in Beach City, the sun hanging high in the sky. Steven was talking with Connie and the other Crystal Gems in his home. Thankfully they didn’t have a mission to go on so they could hang out with the kids for once. Unfortunately for them, the peace wouldn’t last much longer. Soon enough there was a noise from outside that sounded like a screech. As it got louder, and presumably closer, the group ran outside just in time to see a massive figure slam into the ground. When the dust finally settled, it was obvious the hulking figure was some kind of corrupted bird Gem. Before the Gems could even ready their weapons, however, the Gem poofed. In the crater was a dark grey figure with a sword in his left hand. Steven and Connie looked down in amazement, but the Gems were far more cautious. The mysterious man seemed familiar. Said figure picked up the Gem and looked at it before crushing it in his hand. The Gems as well as Steven and Connie recoiled in shock. He just shattered a Gem like it was nothing!

            “Why did you do that?? You just killed them!” Steven shouted as he ran closer, stopping at the edge of the crater. Connie stood next to him, sword out and ready while Steven had his shield. The figure looked up towards them as the Gems came closer as well. His eyes were dark and devoid of all emotion, matching his grey body and sword. His outfit was quite gloomy as well, matching that of a stereotypical emo teen during that time period. He looked between the people staring at him and scoffed.

            “Yeah, and? They were weak. I helped them, saved them a lot of suffering.” He walked out of the crater towards them, causing them all to backpedal while he moved. His sword disappeared and he looked them over again.

            “So, the Crystal Gems are still around, huh? Funny, I thought all of you were destroyed when Homeworld left this miserable rock. Guess now you have to team up with a few lousy humans to just stay afloat.” He smirked a bit at them, though it didn’t seem real. All the expressions he was making that should have been filled with emotion just, weren’t. He could have grinned wider than when Garnet saw Amethyst and Steven fused and it wouldn’t have looked real for a second. He stopped and looked at Steven for a long while which made the others move around to protect him.

            “Wait a minute…Rose? Ha! Now isn’t this something special, you’ve figured out a way to fuse yourself with something organic. What’s your name, little one? I’d love to learn more about you. Something interesting in the last thousand years. Though I doubt you’ll be any different than _her_.” When he almost spat the last word Steven lunged at him in anger, but he took a step to the side letting him fall face first into the sand.

            “My mother was a kind person who saved humanity!” Steven said as he stood up, still glaring at him. He was curious about what he meant by different. But what Bloodstone did confused them all. He began to laugh, and this one was genuine. What made him show true emotion suddenly?

            He stopped laughing after a minute and looked down at Steven. He was quite tall, nearing Garnet’s height if not for her hair. Now his smile turned into a smirk, and a dark one at that.

            “A kind person? You think your mother was kind? Surely you can’t mean the Rose Quartz who started the civil war in the first place, which caused the death of thousands of Gems regardless of her interaction with them? The same Rose Quartz who launched an execution mission on my entire family which ended up being purged anyway? The same Rose Quartz who decided it would be a good idea to attack the same camp I was in which costed me the life of the only person I cared about? No. Your mother was not as kind as you think. A leader makes decisions and gives orders. Regardless of what she believed in, if she didn’t teach that to all of those under her, then she has let murderers run loose. Besides, I’m fairly certain she shattered Pink Diamond herself. She wasn’t all that good, Steven. I just hope you have more blood in that body of yours then Gem light.”

            Steven looked down at his feet while the others looked at him with sorrow and regret. The Gems remembered Bloodstone all too well now. They just hoped he would be kinder than he was with their first meeting.

            “Steven isn’t a murderer! Steven is the best guy I know and he would never kill someone! Besides you’re being a hypocrite, you just killed that Gem right in front of us!” Connie shouted and stood partially in front of Steven.

            “Oh, that? I know. Once the love of my life was dead I lost all care in the universe. The number of Gems I killed just to tell Rose she was a murderer was more than I could count. Then how many fell when I confronted the Diamonds? Oh, boy it did give me some satisfaction. I have yet to encounter a good person besides my dead sisters or dead Emerald. But now I’m sure you’ll be determined to prove me wrong, hmm?”

            “Yes! We’ll show you!” Steven said now and looked up at Bloodstone again.

            “We’ll prove that none of us are murderers, unlike you.” Bloodstone gave a small chuckle.

            “I’ll just have to wait and see. But if you’re so noble you’d better stop me from shattering any Gems that fall into my hand. Or under my boot. It’s kind of my thing now, you know.” He smiled and looked over to see Lapis, Peridot, and Greg come running over from the van that just stopped. They ran up but Lapis and Peridot looked upon Bloodstone in horror. How was he not pieces already?

            “I got your text Steven but what’s going o-wait who’s that?” Greg asked and looked at Bloodstone. Steven widened his eyes. He didn’t even know this Gem’s name after all of that.

            “I am a Bloodstone, dear human. I assume you’re Steven’s father? You look awfully similar. As for the rest of you Gems, you look like you’ve seen a ghost. Oh wait, you’re looking at one!” He laughed and the other Gems continued to keep their distance.

            “Want to come inside for some tea?” Steven asked out of the blue, causing everyone else to look at him like he’s crazy.

            “Hmm…what kind do you have?” Bloodstone asked in return, shocking all of them even more. Steven lead him inside while listing the teas they had on hand, leaving the rest dumbfounded outside.

            “Just like that?? You just ask him to have tea? And you just agree?!” Connie shouted as Bloodstone sat on the floor at the small table. He had a teacup in his hands but he just kept it there. Steven and Bloodstone looked at each other then at Connie before shrugging. This made Connie angrier. The other Gems watched Bloodstone’s every move, but without knowing much about him they didn’t know what to expect. If he wanted to kill them he could have a while ago.

            “Do you not like that kind of tea?” Steven asked and sipped his along with his father. Amethyst had downed hers already while Connie’s was still on the table, safe from her freaking out.

            “No I like it. I’m not one for eating like, that one…” He said, looking over at Amethyst in a little disgust. She was eating the teacup now.

            “The unique warmth and smell is what I like. When you’ve been cracked as long as I have temperature is something that changes a lot. Part of why I’m here now and not in the Winter. Though the snow is nice.” He set the cup down and looked over everyone again.

            “What do you want to know? I know those looks, you’re curious about me. At the very least so you can decide if I’m a threat or not.” He said plainly and shrugged once more.

            “How are you still alive? Those cracks…” Lapis said, still staring at his Gemstone. His cracks were deeper than hers when she was in the mirror, as well as larger.

            “When a Gem makes an attachment to something, presumably another Gem, if that Gem is lost the attached Gem will most likely die. When Emerald was dying I began to crack too, but he told me to stay alive so I stopped. I wasn’t about to break a promise with him.”

            Pearl looked down at her hands, immediately thinking of Rose. Why didn’t she crack? Bloodstone looked at her and scoffed.

            “Wondering why you’re not dead? I’m sure you had time to come to terms with what she’d be doing. Plus you have Steven now. Emerald died in my arms in a fight. That’s a little different than what you went through, Pearl. You should be glad you’re not a lifeless husk of a Gem like me!” He said with mock cheeriness.

            “Wait, so you spoke to the Diamonds?” Peridot asked after a moment of silence.

            “Oh yeah, that. After Emerald died I told the Diamonds not to mess with me, else nothing would stop be from going to the rock of a planet and taking care of them myself. I was done with your war long ago. I mean, I did kill everyone in my way to get to that terminal. That was the main message I was sending by contacting them; their biggest camp and most well-guarded camp didn’t get in my way. Nothing else would. How is Homeworld? The way you look, it’s new.”

            “It’s…not like here. I can’t say which I prefer anymore, but staying here ensures more safety than going back. It’s not so bad.” At this Bloodstone chuckled.

            “Makes sense to me. Hmm at least you have others to entertain you. Besides this, the last memorable thing that happened to me was some Jasper trying to grab a corrupted Gem. She was really going for it, though it was faster than her.”

            “When are you leaving?” Garnet asked, having not looked away. The others looked at her almost in surprise, but they were all wondering it.

            “I don’t know, I think I might stick around a while. Watching you all screw around could provide some form of entertainment.” Bloodstone said and set his tea down. Surprisingly it was still hot, steam slowly rising off the surface of it.

            “I won’t kill you yet, that seems like too much work for now. It’s been forever since anyone put up a fight…maybe it will be fun after all.” This made the others all the more wary of him, but Steven smirked at him with a look of pure determination.

            “I know, you can help me train!” He said and got up, a fist raised while his eyes shone.

            “What?!” Everyone exclaimed, even Lapis surprised by his statement. Wanting to train with a seasoned killer wasn’t exactly what they thought Steven was into.

            “Train with me? If you say so, but I won’t go easy on you. I always wanted to see how much Rose’s shield can take…” He mumbled to himself as the rest of the group stared at Steven, dumbfounded. They knew they couldn’t stop him but they sure as hell could try. Steven knew they would, but nothing would get in his way of making the new greyed-out Gem feel something, anything again. It wasn’t fair to him, considering what had happened. Obviously, it didn’t warrant his actions thereafter, but Steven believed everyone deserved another chance. Even Jasper, as crazy as she is. Could Bloodstone take her on?

            “So, when do you want to start?” The hollow Gem asked Steven, glancing at the others with a small smirk on his lips.

            “Now! Though, not inside. I don’t want to mess up the house again.”


End file.
